733 research outputs found
Gravitational lens candidates in the E-CDFS
We report ten lens candidates in the E-CDFS from the GEMS survey. Nine of the
systems are new detections and only one of the candidates is a known lens
system. For the most promising five systems including the known lens system, we
present results from preliminary lens mass modelling, which tests if the
candidates are plausible lens systems. Photometric redshifts of the candidate
lens galaxies are obtained from the COMBO-17 galaxy catalog. Stellar masses of
the candidate lens galaxies within the Einstein radius are obtained by using
the -band luminosity and the color-based stellar mass-to-light ratios.
As expected, the lensing masses are found to be larger than the stellar masses
of the candidate lens galaxies. These candidates have similar dark matter
fractions as compared to lenses in SLACS and COSMOS. They also roughly follow
the halo mass-stellar mass relation predicted by the subhalo abundance matching
technique. One of the candidate lens galaxies qualifies as a LIRG and may not
be a true lens because the arc-like feature in the system is likely to be an
active region of star formation in the candidate lens galaxy. Amongst the five
best candidates, one is a confirmed lens system, one is a likely lens system,
two are less likely to be lenses and the status of one of the candidates is
ambiguous. Spectroscopic follow-up of these systems is still required to
confirm lensing and/or for more accurate determination of the lens masses and
mass density profiles.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, ApJ accepte
Evolution of optically faint AGN from COMBO-17 and GEMS
We have mapped the AGN luminosity function and its evolution between z=1 and
z=5 down to apparent magnitudes of . Within the GEMS project we have
analysed HST-ACS images of many AGN in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South,
enabling us to assess the evolution of AGN host galaxy properties with cosmic
time.Comment: to appear in proceedings 'Multiwavelength AGN Surveys', Cozumel 200
Stellar science from a blue wavelength range - A possible design for the blue arm of 4MOST
From stellar spectra, a variety of physical properties of stars can be
derived. In particular, the chemical composition of stellar atmospheres can be
inferred from absorption line analyses. These provide key information on large
scales, such as the formation of our Galaxy, down to the small-scale
nucleosynthesis processes that take place in stars and supernovae. By extending
the observed wavelength range toward bluer wavelengths, we optimize such
studies to also include critical absorption lines in metal-poor stars, and
allow for studies of heavy elements (Z>38) whose formation processes remain
poorly constrained. In this context, spectrographs optimized for observing blue
wavelength ranges are essential, since many absorption lines at redder
wavelengths are too weak to be detected in metal-poor stars. This means that
some elements cannot be studied in the visual-redder regions, and important
scientific tracers and science cases are lost. The present era of large public
surveys will target millions of stars. Here we describe the requirements
driving the design of the forthcoming survey instrument 4MOST, a multi-object
spectrograph commissioned for the ESO VISTA 4m-telescope. We focus here on
high-density, wide-area survey of stars and the science that can be achieved
with high-resolution stellar spectroscopy. Scientific and technical
requirements that governed the design are described along with a thorough line
blending analysis. For the high-resolution spectrograph, we find that a
sampling of >2.5 (pixels per resolving element), spectral resolution of 18000
or higher, and a wavelength range covering 393-436 nm, is the most
well-balanced solution for the instrument. A spectrograph with these
characteristics will enable accurate abundance analysis (+/-0.1 dex) in the
blue and allow us to confront the outlined scientific questions. (abridged)Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A
Cosmological weak lensing with the HST GEMS survey
We present our cosmic shear analysis of GEMS, one of the largest wide-field
surveys ever undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Imaged with the Advanced
Camera for Surveys (ACS), GEMS spans 795 square arcmin in the Chandra Deep
Field South. We detect weak lensing by large-scale structure in high resolution
F606W GEMS data from ~60 resolved galaxies per square arcminute. We measure the
two-point shear correlation function, the top-hat shear variance and the shear
power spectrum, performing an E/B mode decomposition for each statistic. We
show that we are not limited by systematic errors and use our results to place
joint constraints on the matter density parameter Omega_m and the amplitude of
the matter power spectrum sigma_8. We find sigma_8(Omega_m/0.3)^{0.65}=0.68 +/-
0.13 where the 1sigma error includes both our uncertainty on the median
redshift of the survey and sampling variance.
Removing image and point spread function (PSF) distortions are crucial to all
weak lensing analyses. We therefore include a thorough discussion on the degree
of ACS PSF distortion and anisotropy which we characterise directly from GEMS
data. Consecutively imaged over 20 days, GEMS data also allows us to
investigate PSF instability over time. We find that, even in the relatively
short GEMS observing period, the ACS PSF ellipticity varies at the level of a
few percent which we account for with a semi-time dependent PSF model. Our
correction for the temporal and spatial variability of the PSF is shown to be
successful through a series of diagnostic tests.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures. Version accepted by MNRA
Exploring the Impact of Galaxy Interactions over Seven Billion Years with CAS
We explore galaxy assembly over the last seven billion years by
characterizing "normal" galaxies along the Hubble sequence, against strongly
disturbed merging/interacting galaxies with the widely used CAS system of
concentration (C), asymmetry (A), and 'clumpiness' (S) parameters, as well as
visual classification. We analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ACS images of
~4000 intermediate and high mass (> 10^9 solar masses) galaxies from the GEMS
survey, one of the largest HST surveys conducted to date in two filters. We
explore the effectiveness of the CAS criteria [A>S and A>~0.35] in separating
normal and strongly disturbed galaxies at different redshifts, and quantify the
recovery and contamination rate. We also compare the average star formation
rate and the cosmic star formation rate density as a function of redshift
between normal and interacting systems identified by CAS.Comment: ASP conference proceedings of 2007 Bash Symposium. Latex with
asp2006.sty. 4 pages, 4 figure
Morphological Transformations of Galaxies in the A901/02 Supercluster from STAGES
We present a study of galaxies in the Abell 901/902 Supercluster at z~0.165,
based on HST ACS F606W, COMBO-17, Spitzer 24um, XMM-Newton X-ray, and
gravitational lensing maps, as part of the STAGES survey. We characterize
galaxies with strong externally-triggered morphological distortions and normal
relatively undisturbed galaxies, using visual classification and quantitative
CAS parameters. We compare normal and distorted galaxies in terms of their
frequency, distribution within the cluster, star formation properties, and
relationship to dark matter (DM) or surface mass density, and intra-cluster
medium (ICM) density. We revisit the morphology density relation, which
postulates a higher fraction of early type galaxies in dense environments, by
considering separately galaxies with a low bulge-to-disk (B/D) ratio and a low
gas content as these two parameters may not be correlated in clusters. We
report here on our preliminary analysis.Comment: To appear in the ASP conference proceedings of the "Frank N. Bash
Symposium 2007: New Horizons in Astronomy", Eds. A. Frebel, J. Maund, J.
Shen, M. Siegel. 4 pages, 4 figure
Black plane solutions in four dimensional spacetimes
The static, plane symmetric solutions and cylindrically symmetric solutions
of Einstein-Maxwell equations with a negative cosmological constant are
investigated. These black configurations are asymptotically anti-de Sitter not
only in the transverse directions, but also in the membrane or string
directions. Their causal structure is similar to that of Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m
black holes, but their Hawking temperature goes with , where is
the ADM mass density. We also discuss the static plane solutions in
Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity with a Liouville-type dilaton potential. The
presence of the dilaton field changes drastically the structure of solutions.
They are asymptotically ``anti-de Sitter'' or ``de Sitter'' depending on the
parameters in the theory.Comment: 8 pages, RevTex, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Playing dice with mice: building experimental futures in Singapore
This is a postprint of an article published in New Genetics and Society, 2011, Vol. 30, Issue 4 pp. 433 â 441 © 2011 copyright Taylor & Francis. New Genetics and Society is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cngs20#.UqsI0tJdU24This short paper adds to debates on the unfolding spaces and logics of biotechnological development bought together in the 2009 special issue of New Genetics and Society on âBiopolitics in Asiaâ. Though an unlikely comparison between the development of the genomic sciences and the building of gambling casinos in the city state of Singapore, it reflects on the nature of political and technological investments in this South-East Asian city. It argues that Western expectations of a link between scientific practices, and civic epistemologies linked to democratic decision-making, are replaced by a rather different future orientation to scientific experimentation, economic investment and social development in Singapore
- âŠ